Welcome to Nevermore Academy
So this is it…, she nervously thought as she stood in front of the imposing building that was Nevermore Academy. The paper with the hastily written down address lay crumpled in her hand as the young woman’s nerves got the best of her.
She slung the dark brown leather bag over her shoulder that held her meager possessions. Sadly, she didn’t have enough time to pack everything of her belongings as her exit was rather quick and definitely not expected.
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It had all started when after graduating from college, Anthea noticed she was different. That she could do something others couldn’t.
It terrified her to no end as she was very aware of the stipulation of outcasts in society. They were treated like lesser beings, like they should never exist in the first place.
That’s why she shied away from telling other people of these special talents of hers. After graduation, she went home for some quiet downtime before deciding what to do with her life.
Which was already quite bad in the eyes of her parents. After all, how could Anthea complete her education without a plan for the time that followed ? All her friends had their lives basically mapped out and were on their way to accomplish other great things.
But not her. She still wasn’t sure what to make out of her life. Maybe some travel and work or some voluntary tasks? It simply wouldn’t do to rush things, she only lived her life once.
That was definitely the right decision, at least in her eyes. Her parents weren’t thrilled about this…They shouted at her the whole day and made her cry more than once.
But the real problem started when they accidentally saw what she could do. Anthea was sitting in her old childhood bedroom and contemplated her life and the turn it was taking.
Doodling absentmindedly on the piece of paper in front of her, she listened to the radio and dreamed of better days. Carefully, she raised the paper, waved her right hand over it, and blew on the thin texture.
That was when her door burst open and her mother barged in, clearly on a mission to talk some sense into her daughter.
Panicked, she tried to hide the drawing but couldn’t stop the inevitable to happen. The butterflies, which she drew a few minutes ago, were already coming to life, flapping their wings and fluttering around her room.
When her mother’s eyes fell on the animated insects, a multitude of expressions was seen on her face. First, she went white as a sheet, which was quickly followed by a shocked frown. Next thing Anthea knew, all hell broke loose.
Her mother was screaming at the top of her lungs. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR FAMILY?!?! THIS IS SIMPLY DISGUSTING! A FREAK, IN OUR FAMILY..MY OWN DAUGHTER!”
With that, she ran down the flight of stairs, no doubt in search of the rest of the family.
Anthea knew pretty well what would happen next. Her family was right at the front when it came to shaming and bullying outcasts, they had zero tolerance for human beings who were simply different from them.
She was scared of what they would do to her, probably sending her to some mental asylum or clinic to make her normal again, well normal in their eyes.
Anthea did the only thing she could think of. Quickly, she grabbed her leather bag, shoved some clothes, her drawing supplies, a few books, and her purse in it, and hastily made her way outside her window, down to the garden.
She thanked whomever god was listening that her old room was located on the first floor and seeing as it was summer, the flower beds were in full bloom and lush enough to cushion her fall.
Quietly, she crept through the garden and to the street. From within the house, loud screaming and stomping could be heard, obviously her family on their way up to her room.
Once on the paved street, she ran as fast as she could, tears streaming down her eyes. This was it, she doubted that she would ever see her family again, but were they still that? Her family? What kind of family would shun their daughter and throw her into an asylum?
When Anthea reached a secluded area, she pondered what to do. Where should she go? She had no other relatives, no friends who cared enough to hide her from her hateful family.
Then, a thought crossed her mind. She had once heard about a place called Nevermore, down in Jericho, some town a few miles away. There were rumors about it being a school for outcasts of all kinds, a safe haven for all people who didn’t have any connection to the real world.
She quickly pulled out her phone and typed the name into the search engine. Clicking on the first entry, she found the website of the school in question.
Quickly scanning over the offered lessons, special days and history she clicked the play button of a video.
The face of a beautiful woman appeared on her screen. She had platinum blonde hair, which was coiffed into neat curls on her head, wore a ruby red pout and had the most beautiful blue eyes Anthea had ever seen.
She spoke with a very defined English accent and sat regally behind a dark mahogany desk. Anthea was instantly enamored with her.
Turned out she was the principal of the school and an outcast herself. She watched the video with rapt attention and when the video ended, she quickly clicked for the directions to the institution.
Walking hastily to the next bus stop, she waited for the bus to arrive and went on her way to the only place where she hoped to be safe.
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Which was how she ended up here, right before the iron gates of the impressive school building. Taking one last deep breath, Anthea followed the long path up to the school and tried not to let the curious looks of the wandering students get to her.
Entering the main building, she tried to find the way to the principal's office but in the end, had to ask a student for the right directions after she was hopelessly wandering countless corridors, not knowing where to look for the right room.
Now standing in front of a double set of heavy wooden doors, she thought if coming here was really such a good idea. But where should she have gone then? She was quite literally alone in this world now.
Taking one last deep breath, Anthea raised her hand to knock on the wood.
From the inside, some shuffling could be heard and the angry click-clack of high heels sounded on the floor before the double doors were aggressively pulled open.
“Who dares to interrupt me now?” Anthea was too dumbfounded to properly react to that angry outburst. She let her eyes wander all the way up to the person snapping at her.
In front of her stood the platinum-blonde woman from the website, obviously the principal. She towered intimidatingly over the small woman with her imposing height and stared at Anthea with a piercing glare.
“Well?”, the older woman asked with an annoyed look on her face. It was pretty obvious that she was quite displeased with the sudden interruption of whatever she was doing right now.
Anthea tried to form the jumble of words in her head into a complete sentence but could only stammer halfheartedly.
Larissa still fixed her with her brilliant blue eyes. “You have interrupted my work, the least you could do is explain to me why you have done so. She crossed her arms and still waited for a response.
Anthea’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “I..I saw your video online ab..about this sc..school and it is probably the o..only place right now that won’t hurt m..me.”
Hearing that desperate plea, Larissa’s eyes softened immediately. She could never be angry at somebody who was in need of a safe place.
“Don’t cry, darling! Come in, please.” She gestured for Anthea to follow her into her office and walked with long and graceful strides to a heavy-looking mahogany desk and sat down behind it.
Anthea let herself down onto a comfortable-looking chair right in front of her and tried to wipe away her tears.
“My name is Larissa Weems, I am the principal of Nevermore Academy, as you probably know. Whatever has happened to you, you are safe here, darling. Would you mind telling me your name?” A small smile played around her red lips.
“An..Anthea Rose Kyle, miss.” She blew her nose on her sleeve.
“Anthea..blooming flower..what a beautiful name.” Larissa’s eyes turned the kindest and most sincere shade of blue. “I can assure you, you are safe here as long as I am the principal of Nevermore…” She smiled again.
“Why don’t you tell me what has happened, sweetheart?”
The scared woman in front of her took a deep breath and tried to get her bearings.
“I came home to my parents after graduating college and they witnessed me using my powers, I only discovered them in my last few months of college. They went completely insane. I had to flee, or otherwise, they would have sent me to an asylum or something similar. My family is not very tolerating regarding outcasts..in fact, I have never seen more hateful people…” she trailed off, a sad tone in her voice.
“Your powers?”, Larissa’s expression changed to intrigue. “What exactly are your special powers, if you don’t mind me asking, darling?”
“I..I..” Anthea looked unsure at her hands in her lap.
Sympathetically, Larissa reached out one of her hands and stroked over her trembling arms.
“It is ok, sweetheart. No one is going to harm you, I promise.”
Somehow Anthea felt that she could trust this woman in front of her, who looked so sincere and understanding, although they had only met a few minutes ago.
“I am quite good at art and I can..I can bring it to life.”
“You can bring it to life? Can I see your artwork?” She smiled excitedly at Anthea.
“What is the medium you like to work with most? Watercolor? Pastels? Acrylics? Oils?”
Anthea had to smile upon hearing the excited questions of the tall blonde.
“Yes, I can bring my art to life. I have nothing with me seeing as I was fleeing my home rather desperately but I could do something quick for you if you would like?”, she asked shyly, still in awe of the principal’s beauty.
“I really love to work with watercolors or just charcoal to sketch but I use almost every medium available.”
“My my… I am in the presence of another creative spirit I believe.
Watercolor is my favorite. I just love the way the strokes of paint flow and create a lovely composition of a painting. I love art”, Larissa smiled and looked at the young woman with warmth. “And let me assure you, no harm will come to you while under my protection.”
Surprised, Anthea looked up at the graceful features of the tall woman. “You paint?”
Smirking, she nodded. “Yes, I paint and I sculpt. I even dabble in digital art from time to time. It is a good way to let my emotions out.”
Larissa looked with deep compassion into Anthea’s eyes.
“You are going through an emotional period now I know. Your gift, it’s not something to be feared. I know you may feel as if it is the sole reason your family abandoned you but let me tell you, it is a beautiful way of nature to tell you how special you are and if your family isn’t able to appreciate it, we here at Nevermore can. You will find a new family here, so many people here have gone the same route of unacceptance as you are. We are there for each other, we respect our differences and what makes us special.”
Unbelieving, Anthea looked into the eyes of Larissa, but could only find sincerity in the deep, blue orbs.
“I would love nothing more than to see you create your art. I have no doubt it will be a magical experience, my dear!” Larissa gave her a warm smile.
“I..I could draw something for you if you would like principal.” Somehow, she didn’t want to leave her presence yet.
Larissa’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. “Oh my, please do! I can’t wait to see what exactly your gift looks like, we have no one quite like you here at the academy.”
Anthea blushed and let herself sink deeper into the armchair she was sitting in. “I only have a few things with me after my departure but some paper and charcoal should do.”
“Charcoal?”, the charismatic woman smiled. “I love to work with charcoal. It’s my second favorite medium. The way it glides over the paper is just so soothing. I think you will fit in here perfectly, I just know it”.
Carefully, Anthea took some slightly crumpled papers and a few pieces of charcoal out of her bag.
“And don’t think about your belongings anymore. I will make sure that you have everything you need and more. As your new family, it is my duty to make sure you are well cared for.”
Excitedly, she clicked away on the keyboard of her MacBook, probably already searching for some stuff to order.
Anthea watched her for a while and then started to quickly sketch a portrait of her, sitting regally behind her desk like a queen.
Larissa doesn’t seem to notice her drawing away, clearly busy searching for whatever she had looked up online. When she turned her eyes finally on Anthea, her eyes went wide.
“Oh my!” Her eyes glittered with pride and excitement. “That is truly beautiful, the likeness is amazing. You are clearly gifted, not only with your powers! You are going to be an immense addition to the art department and to the entire school.” A small sniffling sound could be heard in the grand office.
Alarmed, Anthea looked up at her teary eyes. “Oh, please Larissa! Don’t cry! She clapped a hand over her mouth but let it sink down right away. “Oh..I..I mean Miss Weems! I’m sorry..”, she mumbled, clearly embarrassed that this woman made her already fall in love with her and all fuzy inside her brain, even after only meeting her barely an hour ago.
Larissa looked unperturbed at the blubbering young woman.
“Anthea, there is no need to apologize. You just created a masterpiece that I fully intend to frame and place in my office as a remembrance of this day. It will be to signify the start of many more great days to come.” Larissa smiled at her.
Gratefully, Anthea smiled back. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, especially after my family discovered how I can manipulate my art. They would have not shied from locking me away. I’m not a child anymore, I’m 26...They were treating me like an ill child they desperately needed to get fixed up.”
Distraught, she started to crush the remaining piece of charcoal in her hands till there was only a huge, black mess in her hands.
“Anthea…this is truly horrible. And very cruel. The powers that you have deserve to be cultivated. You are an amazing woman and your talent should be honed and not tried to get rid of.”
Anthea slowly nodded her head at the encouraging words from the platinum-blonde.
“B..but what should I do with my future? I am an outcast, I couldn’t possibly go back to my old town, the people there are so bigoted, they are like my parents, only much worse..”
“Anthea, your future is wide open. You can be a professional artist, or with your talent, maybe a teacher for art history or so many other great things. The world is your oyster, my dear! You can do absolutely anything your heart desires. What do you want to do? What makes you happy the most?”
“Well..I always imagined being an art teacher but with my abilities, normie schools are clearly out of the question. Even if I would work somewhere far away, where nobody would know of me or my abilities. Do you wanna see what happens with my art?”
Interested, Larissa’s ears perked up at that. “Oh, please show me what you are able to do with your talent. I am dying to know how exactly it manifests itself!”
Anthea looked surprised at the principal’s outburst, never had someone reacted this way to her abilities, it was always the exact opposite.
Taking a deep breath, she reached for a penci llying on the desk, and sketched a field of lavender very quickly. Then, she blew softly over the paper and waved quickly her hand in a circle. The lavender began to shake as if a soft breeze had overtaken it. You could actually hear the soft rustling of wind if one listened closely and a heavy lavender scent penetrated the grand office.
Larissa’s breath caught in her throat and a broad smile stretched her regal features.
“Oh my! This is truly magnificent! You are actually able to bring scenes to life..That is really remarkable!”
Sporting a small smile of her own, Anthea nodded at the enthusiasm of the tall woman.
“I can also animate objects and make them interact with their surroundings.”
She reached for the quick sketch she did of Larissa earlier and blew over this too. Finishing the process with a small gesture of her hand, she handed the scrape of paper back to the principal.
Larissa stared dumbfounded at the paper, the image of herself smiling and waving at her enthusiastically.
“This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime gift my dear! There is no doubt in my mind that you will be a magnificent teacher here at Nevermore! Your talent is beyond everything I have ever seen. If you can do the impossible with just a simple charcoal pencil, I wonder what other great things are possible for you? That is one of my favorite things about art, actually. A simple tool can create magical masterpieces and combined with a gifted set of eyes and this talent of yours..”
She wasn’t able to rant on any further as Anthea went white as a sheet.
“You..you want me to teach here?” Unbelieving, she blinked rapidly at the beautiful woman in front of her, who was so sure of the things she had just said.
“Well yes… we have a need for someone with a great eye and talent such as yours. And that person is definitely you, my dear!” At that, she leaned over the tabletop and boobed her softly on the nose, which promted Anthea to let out a small giggle.
“You will accomplish great things here at Nevermore, I promise you that. You will be a great addition to our halls and I am so glad you found us, darling, as you are truly remarkable !”
Now, Anthea was the one who was in tears.
Larissa went around her desk, knelled in front of her and tenderly wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Oh my darling, look at you! You are really going to make a difference in this school and this is a safe place for you and your amazing gifts. You are a part of Nevermore now, not an outcast in a town full of normies anymore. We are your family from now on.”
Overwhelmed, Anthea leaned into Larissa’s touch, thinking how she was truly the most beautiful and kindhearted woman she had ever met.
Larissa smiled softly and gave her a gentle hug.
“You are safe here, Anthea. Here you can be your true self as Nevermore is home to all different types of outcasts and you are now one of them.
The only question is: Will you accept my proposal?”
Still blinking rapidly, as if to reassure her that this was all really happening, she nodded her head. “I..I am truly speechless. I…of course I will accept, if you really wanna have me?”
Now it was Larissa who was shaking her head. “Of course we do, sweetheart! You will be a valuable member of the Nevermore staff from now on! The children will love you and what you can teach them. Maybe not the magical part, but your artistic understanding is truly remarkable even without it. You are everything I can possibly envision an art teacher to be. Talented, kind, passionate and above all, dedicated. You are what this school needs. So, what is your answer?”
She looked up at Anthea hopefully. taking a deep breath, Anthea said the only thing she could think of and nodded. “This is probably the most spontaneous thing I have ever done, but…yes, I will!”
Larissa jumped up so quickly and threw her arms around the young woman, that Anthea harshly sucked in some air.
“Thank you so much Anthea, you have just become a part of Nevermore’s history. Welcome to the academy, my dear!”
Anthea squealed when the tall woman suddenly lifted her from the ground and twirled her around the warm room.
Giggling softly, she tried to find her footing when she was let down again.
This was surely the biggest change in her life since she could remember.